Baird R W Lowers McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) to Hold

Baird R W lowered shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.22.

McDonald’s Stock Down 3.0 %

NYSE MCD opened at $292.50 on Wednesday. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $297.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.88. The company has a market capitalization of $210.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at $3,036,366.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,036,366.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 2.4% during the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.